Share of global plastic waste imports in Romania
Romania: Share of global plastic waste imports was 1.2% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in Romania, 1991–2024
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of global plastic waste imports in Romania stood at 1.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 385.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Romania peaked at 1.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2001.
Romania ranks 19th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in Romania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 0.0% | — |
| 1992 | 0.0% | +781.2% |
| 1993 | 0.0% | -75.8% |
| 1994 | 0.0% | -30.5% |
| 1995 | 0.0% | -65.4% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | +120.9% |
| 1997 | 0.0% | +141.1% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | -91.2% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | +973.3% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | — |
| 2003 | 0.0% | -46.8% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | -36.6% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | +82.9% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | +629.3% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | +335.9% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | +330.1% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | -53.8% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | +113.7% |
| 2011 | 0.1% | +158.1% |
| 2012 | 0.1% | +52.8% |
| 2013 | 0.2% | +34.9% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | +25.8% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | -12.0% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | +53.1% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | +51.4% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | +126.3% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | +54.5% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | -28.6% |
| 2021 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2022 | 1.3% | — |
| 2023 | 1.2% | -5.7% |
| 2024 | 1.2% | +2.4% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 1.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 65.6× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Romania's 1.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1%, 10.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global plastic waste imports in Romania changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +973.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1992 | +781.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.0% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Romania
More environment data for Romania
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.2 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.634 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.03 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.5647 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.1112 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global plastic waste imports in Romania?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in Romania was 1.2% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2001.
- How does Romania rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Romania ranks 19th out of 183 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 385.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Romania data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.